System and method for determining component version compatibility across a device ecosystem

ABSTRACT

A system and method that include collecting device version profiles from a plurality of device sources; classifying the device version profiles into a device profile repository; receiving a component version query request; querying the device profile repository according to the version query request; and responding to the query request with results of the query.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/482,796, filed on 10 Sep. 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/876,109, filed on 10 Sep. 2013, both ofwhich are incorporated in their entireties by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to the software versioning field, andmore specifically to a new and useful system and method for determiningtool version capabilities field.

BACKGROUND

The availability of open source and proprietary hardware and softwaretools has resulted in the rapid development of new and varying products.Hardware and software tools such as computing system firmware, operatingsystems, software development kits, hardware components, and other toolscan be used, modified, and/or repurposed to accelerate the productdevelopment process. Recently, a popular tool or device component hasbeen the Android operating system. However, the Android operating systemhas not only been used in developing new phones but also tablets,computers, smart devices, and other devices using some form or versionof the Android operating system. As it is applied to different systemsand applications though, working with the devices becomes increasinglydifficult—the system becomes increasingly fragmented. One report citedthat over 11,000 distinct Android devices were in use in 2013, whichgrew to over 18,000 in 2014. Each of these devices may have specifichardware limitations, network carrier limitations, product systemlimitations (e.g., who sells and maintains the product), and othercomplications, which complicate the network of responsibility inmaintaining the device. Such fragmentation presents numerous challenges.In particular, the security of Android devices becomes difficult tomanage due to the various relationships and responsibilities of theinvolved parties. Such problems are also prevalent for other widely usedtools and device components. Thus, there is a need in the softwareversioning field to create a new and useful system and method fordetermining tool version capabilities. This invention provides such anew and useful system and method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system of a preferredembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a method of a preferredembodiment;

FIG. 3 is a communication flow diagram of a method of a preferredembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a communication flow diagram of a variation of a methodwherein the query submits device profile information stored in therepository;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a variation including annotatingthe device profile repository;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of detecting a new version trend within exemplarydata from a device profile repository;

FIG. 7 is a diagram representing collected device version profiles andshowing exemplary recommendations for queries associated with thosedevice version profiles;

FIG. 8 is a diagram representing weighting component versions; and

FIG. 9 is a communication flow diagram of a variation monitoring adevice instance.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of preferred embodiments of the invention isnot intended to limit the invention to these preferred embodiments, butrather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use thisinvention.

1. System for Determining Tool Version Capabilities

As shown in FIG. 1, a system for determining component versioncapabilities of a preferred embodiment can include a componentcompatibility service 110 that is communicatively coupled to a deviceprofile repository 120. The system can additionally include a pluralityof device collection modules 130 operatively distributed to a pluralityof devices. The system functions to collect component versioninformation and more preferably device version profiles across a widesampling of devices. That data is then organized and processed such thatrecommendations can be made for the tool version and related attributes.The system can be applied to generate component compatibilityassessments, component recommendations, component analytics withindevice populations, identify component conflicts, component trends, andother suitable component version related information synthesis.

In a preferred implementation, the system is used to determinerecommended stable versions of an operating system for a particulardevice. For example, the Android operating system is a highly fragmentedecosystem with a wide variety of device, carrier, and country componentvariations. Upgrading a system to the most secure and stable version ofthe operating system is not as simple as using the highest versionnumber of the operating system. There are hardware restrictions, carrierrestrictions, country restrictions, and other restrictions. Thefragmentation issue is so complicated that it can be intractable foroutside parties to attempt to uniformly improve security of the Androidecosystem through existing version information. However, using adistributed sampling of operating system version and device information,the system can achieve probabilistic recommendations of componentversions. For example, the system can be used to identify recommendedvulnerability and security patches that are compatible with a particulardevice instance. While the Android operating system is one such tool,the problem can be evident in other widely used and/or modified toolssuch as open source software projects, hardware platforms, and othertools used in building products. In another example, an open hardwarecomponent may allow for different hardware modules developed fromvarious entities to be used in combination. Module compatibility andfirmware updates across multiple modules can similarly benefit from thesystem.

The component compatibility service 110 of the preferred embodimentfunctions to act as a centralized service for collecting and managingcomponent version information. The component capability service noincludes or is communicatively coupled to a device profile repository120. The component capability service 110 can additionally function toprocess service queries concerning tool compatibility. The componentcompatibility service 110 is preferably a remote cloud-hosted service. Acloud-hosted service can be any suitable network accessible server,computer cluster, or distributed computing environment. The componentcompatibility service no can additionally be a sub-component of orcooperatively integrated with a second network accessible service usedfor a secondary purpose such as a vulnerability assessment service, atwo-factor authentication service, a system update service, an analyticsservice, or any suitable network accessible service. The componentcompatibility service no can be a public service, wherein outsideentities may be capable of accessing and using the system. The componentcompatibility service 110 may alternatively be an internal or on-premisesolution that operates within a closed ecosystem such as a service runon some IT solution of an Enterprise entity.

The component compatibility service 110 is preferably applied totracking component versions across multiple devices. Component versionscan include the version or type identifiers of one or more software orhardware modules which can include version identifiers for operatingsystems, device models, applications, device wide services, softwarepackages or libraries, firmware, plugins, vulnerability or securitypatches, hardware add-on/accessory, and/or other suitable device tools.The component compatibility service 110 preferably uses the variety ofdevice instance configurations and optionally additional device instancecontext information such as language settings, communication/dataproviders (e.g., telecommunication carriers).

The component compatibility service 110 can include at least twointerfaces. A first interface is a collection interface 112, whichfunctions as an input channel for receiving component version updates.The component version updates are preferably received from a pluralityof different device instances. The system uses a large collection ofcomponent version updates from a diverse collection of devices. Thecollection interface can be used to collect device version profilesupdates from application collection module instances installed on clientdevices. The application collection module can be a standaloneapplication, a software development kit used by third partyapplications, a plug-in added by a user, a web application, or anysuitable component operable on the device. There can additionally be aplurality of different types of application collection modules used tocollect information. An application collection module instance reads ordetermines information for the device version profile transmission andthen transmits the device version profile to the cloud-hosted service.The transmission can be over HTTP but any suitable protocol orcommunication channel can be used. A transmitted device version profilemay be communicated as a single data object, but a set of componentversion and other information may be communicated at different timessuch that a full device version profile is constructed or updated withinthe component compatibility service 110 over time period.

The second interface of the component compatibility service 110 is aquery interface 114. The query interface functions to allow the data inthe device profile repository 120 to be collectively processed todetermine solutions concerning tool compatibility. The query interface114 can be the same interface as the collection interface 112 (e.g., therequest includes a device version profile update and the responseincludes information relating to the compatibility of that deviceinstance). The query interface 114 can alternatively be separate andused by outside parties to programmatically interact with the componentcompatibility service 110. For example, the query interface 114 can beused to selectively impact operation of an application. In anothervariation, the query interface 114 is an internal interface and is notexposed externally. The internal query interface can be used toselectively impact operation of secondary objectives of the componentcompatibility service 110 such as during a vulnerability assessment of adevice or when providing system updates.

The device profile repository 120 of the preferred embodiment functionsto store component version information records of various deviceinstances. An individual record corresponds to a single device instance.A device instance preferably directly relates to one physical device.For example, the phone used by a particular user may have onecorresponding device profile that characterizes the version state andoptionally device configuration of that phone. More preferably a deviceinstance is associated with a time attribute. A device version profilemay be associated with one time that when the information was collected.A device version profile can alternatively have a timeline history ofevolution for that particular device version profile. For example, adevice version profile may show that a particular device instance isregularly updated to a stable version or conversely that the deviceinstance is infrequently updated despite available or recommendedupdates.

A single device version profile can include component information formultiple components. A device version profile may alternatively includecomponent version information for only a single component or tool.Additional contextual or configuration information may supplement thedevice version information. In one limited example, an operating systemversion identifier may be mapped to a device model number in the deviceversion information. In one variation, the operating system is ofprimary interest in the system but the primary component of interestcould alternatively be any software project, hardware firmware, physicalhardware architecture, and/or other suitable tools. In one example, thesystem can be applied to tracking component compatibility with theAndroid operating system.

The device profile repository 120 can be a database(s) of the collectedtool version updates. The device profile repository 120 can additionallybe reformatted or architected to pre-format component version patternsaccording to anticipated queries. For example, one preferred use case isto provide a recommended operating system version based on a device,carrier, country, and other device information. The repository canstructure the database structure to improve the efficiency ofdetermining the recommended version of the operating system.

The system can additionally include a device collection module 130 whichfunctions to retrieve, generate, or collect a device version profile ona device instance. A device collection module 130 is operative on atleast one device. The device collection module 130 can be a standaloneclient application, a software development kit used by third partyapplications, a plug-in added by a user, a web application, or anysuitable component operable on the device. When integrated into anapplication with a secondary objective, the application can be a devicevulnerability assessment application, a two-factor authenticationapplication, a system update application, an analytics service of anapplication, or any suitable component of an application. The devicecollection module 130 collects a device version profile from the device.In one preferred implementation, the component of interest is the deviceoperating system. The operating system version number is retrieved.Additionally, information can also be retrieved such as the devicemodel, associated parties, supplemental information (e.g., usageinformation, installed applications, etc.), and other informationimpacting the version of the component.

2. Method for Determining Tool Version Capabilities

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a method for determining tool versioncapabilities of a preferred embodiment can include collecting deviceversion profiles from a plurality of sources S110, classifying thedevice version profiles into a device profile repository S120, receivinga component version query request S130, querying the device profilerepository according to the component version query request S140, andresponding to the request with a result of the query S150. The methodfunctions to use a vast amount of component version information from adiverse set of device instances to dynamically determine capabilitiesand recommendations of a component. The component of interest ispreferably an operating system such as the Android operating system, butthe device component could alternatively be a type of any application,device-wide service, software package or library, firmware, plugin,vulnerability or security patch, hardware add-on/accessory, and/or anysuitable device tool. Herein, a device operating system is primarilyused as an exemplary tool, but the examples can similarly be applied toother types of components. Traditional approaches of maintaining adatabase of version information for a device become intractable whentools are susceptible to fragmentation along multiple dimensions (devicemodel, country, carrier, etc.). The method is particularly beneficialwith the increase of sharing of software, firmware, hardware, and/orphysical or software components. Sharing of modifiable device components(as open-source or accessible device elements) results inde-standardizing of such tools. The big-data social approach of themethod enables services to manage information of a fragmented componentecosystem.

The method is preferably implemented through a cloud-hosted service suchas the one described above. A plurality of devices using a collectionmodule can connect to the hosted service to facilitate collection ofcomponent version information. The component version information ispreferably organized into a device version profile. The system ispreferably implemented by a service substantially similar to the onedescribed above, but any suitable service can implement the system. Inone variation, the method is used in cooperation with a vulnerabilityassessment system or method as described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/601,409, filed 31 Aug. 2012, which is hereby incorporated in itsentirety by this reference. The method may alternatively or additionallybe used with any other supplemental services such as an authenticationservice, password management, app/component store, anti-virus orsecurity software, and/or any suitable service.

Block S110, which includes collecting device version profiles from aplurality of sources, functions to receive and store component versioninformation from multiple devices and users. The collected deviceversion profiles are preferably used to form a large corpus of versioninformation for one or more components. A large number of componentversion information records are collected from a plurality of differentdevice instances. The component version information can be organized,formed, or otherwise converted into a device version profile as shown inFIG. 7, which functions as a data object representing a device instance.In one variation, a set of component version information is collected atdifferent instances in time and a device version profile is formed inthe cloud-hosted service. The variety of device instances providing thecomponent version information is preferably diverse enough to collectsufficiently large sample sets for many, if not most or all, devicevariations. Preferably, system is a multitenant platform thatfacilitates collecting information across multiple entities oroperators. For example, if a collection module is integrated with atwo-factor authentication SDK, then all the apps using the 2FA SDK canprovide device version profiles to the system.

Collecting device version profiles can include periodically collectingdevice profile information, which may include updating existing deviceversion profiles or collecting device version profiles of new devicesources. Since the component and device variations can be a constantlyevolving environment (within a single device instance and for new deviceinstances), the collection of data can be a continuous, periodic, orongoing process. A record of a device version profile can additionallybe updated during block S110 if a device was updated or changed. Thedevice version profile is preferably received at an internet connectedcloud-hosted service through a collection interface. The device versionprofile can alternatively be sent over any suitable communicationchannel. The device version profile is preferably transmitted from thedevice instance the information references. The device can be a personalcomputing device such as a smart phone, a tablet, a desktop computer, awearable computing device, a TV connected computing device, or anysuitable computing device.

The device version profile can include the version number of at leastone component/tool identifier, the device model, associated parties,carrier information, device user configuration (e.g., languagesettings), and other information impacting the version of the tool. Thecomponent in a preferred implementation is an operating system. Thereare various factors that can impact the most current version of anoperating system that can run on a particular device. The device versionprofile of an operating system of a mobile device can include thecurrent operating system version, the device model and/or hardwareconfiguration, and the carrier/network provider. It can additionallycollect information such as country or language requirements. In somedevices, such information may not be available, applicable, oraccessible so a partial set of available information can alternativelybe collected. Additionally, capabilities of the component can becharacterized or transmitted as a profile of the current tool version.For example, the current design of the tools and available functions andfeatures can provide a fingerprint or signature indicative of the deviceversion profile. As another addition, the device version profile caninclude supplementary version information of related tools orcomponents. For example, firmware versions, application versions,plug-in versions, hardware versions, or other related components usedwithin the device could additionally be transmitted. The supplementaryversion information can be used to provide compatibility information.While determining the most current version of a component can be achallenging problem, determining the most current version of acompatible component can additionally be challenging. Such compatibilityissues can have multiple dependencies. The component version informationstored within the device version repository can additionally be seeded,supplemented or supplied with ground-truth data or previously collecteddata, which can involve augmenting the device profile repository withcomponent version annotation. The component version annotation caninclude black listing or weighting preference of particular componentversions as shown in FIG. 5. Similarly the component version annotationmay be based on a set of device properties. For example, a particularoperating system version may be blacklisted for devices of a particularmodel from a particular carrier.

In one implementation, providing an application module used by thesource devices can facilitate transmitting the device version profilefrom a device to a central system (e.g., the cloud-hosted service). Theapplication module can be a standalone application, a softwaredevelopment kit or library used by third party applications, a plug-inadded by a user, a web application, or any suitable component operableon the device. There can additionally be a plurality of different typesof application modules used to collect information. The applicationmodule preferably reads or determines information for the tool versiontransmission. The application module will read the information and thentransmit the device version profile to the cloud-hosted service. Readingthe information may include accessing exposed or hidden API's to readversion identification information for a particular device. In somevariations, the version identification information may not be exposedfor direct access. The application module may run various tests todetermine a version identifier or set of identifiers. As one particularexample, some features may be offered by a second version of a componentthat isn't offered by an initial version of the same component. Theapplication module may test for the presence of those new features andif detected conclude the component is the second version.

The application module is preferably used by a large number of users.The transmission can be a complimentary communication of anotherservice—the purpose of the application may not be directly forcollection version information. For example, the information can becollected and used alongside a vulnerability assessment, a two-factorauthentication application, a system update application, an analyticsservice of an application, or any suitable component of an application.

Block S120, which includes classifying the device version profiles intoa device profile repository, functions to store and organize data aroundthe version information. Preferably, the state of individual deviceinstances is recorded in a database system or an alternative datastorage solution. In one variation, the state of the devices ispersistently stored such that specific device information for aparticular device at particular time can be used in data analysis.Alternatively, the information may be organized into an aggregatedanalysis of a set of devices, wherein information for a particulardevice is obfuscated as an aggregate data point. An aggregated dataapproach may record values to generate the probability of a givencomponent within a device population and/or the conditional probabilityfor particular component. The collected information device versionprofiles are preferably stored at or at least accessible by thecloud-hosted service. The device version profile preferably is stored asa record including version number of a component, the device model,associated parties, supplemental information, and other informationimpacting the version of the tool. Additionally, the device source canbe recorded. The source of the information can be used in weighting theinformation and evaluating the collected data as a whole in Block S140.Additionally, the time of collection is tracked. The device versionprofile can be similarly weighted based on age of the data point.

Classifying device version profiles can include processing and creatingdevice version profiles. In one implementation, a device version profiledata object may include an instance identifier that is unique to theparticular device instance, a time stamp of when the information wascollected (or last updated), a first component version identifier (e.g.,a primary component of interest such as an operating system), anoptional set of additional component version identifiers, and a set ofdevice context information. In one variation, there will be only oneclass or type of component of interest. In another variation, multipletypes of components will be of interest, and version identifiers will becollected for these component types as well. In another variation, othertypes of components can be used to provide context of the primarycomponent—in which case, component version identifiers for thesecomponents are collected for context. The context information caninclude a device model identifier, carrier information, country/locationinformation, user configuration information, and/or any suitableinformation related to the environment of device. The information in thedevice version information can be used to make objective data drivenanalysis such as this percentage of devices of this model use thisoperating system. Some information may alternatively be used to drivesubjective analysis such as users that commonly use their devices insecure manner use this operating system or users with behavior leadingto device vulnerabilities use this set of components. The device versionprofile may additionally include a history of device profile snapshots.For example, the set of component versions for a device at differentintervals may be stored such that the history of how the deviceconfiguration has evolved can be monitored. In an alternativeimplementation, each snapshot can be stored as a unique device instance.

Block S130, which includes receiving a component version query request,functions to initialize identification of tool capabilities. The queryrequest can be an internal query of the system, such as when used incombination with providing a vulnerability resolution product. Inanother variation, the query request can be made by an authenticatedaccount through a query API of the system as shown in FIG. 2. In thisvariation, the system is preferably a multitenant platform. Whereas theindividual user may only have contributed limited or no informationrelated to device profile information, the request can be fulfilledusing the systems data collected across from multiple sources.

The component version query request preferably includes a set ofcomponent version information to define constraints of the query. Morepreferably, the component version query is an at least a partial deviceversion profile. Block S140 can apply the information included in thedevice version profile query to identify a compatible or recommendedcomponent based on multiple properties of the profile. For example, therecommended operating system may be identified based on the devicemodel, the carrier information, and the set of other component versionnumbers. Alternatively, the component version information can include asingle component version identifier such as a device model identifier.In yet another variation, the request may be an unconstrained requestwherein the result may include the recommended component (e.g., mostsecure, most stable, most popular). In yet another variation, theconstraint may be that of multiple version identifiers or device versionprofiles. For example, an IT department that has deployed IT managedphones to numerous employees may have those phones be in various versionstates (different OS's and device models). If the IT department waswanting to install a particular application or service across thesedevices, the IT department could submit a query with a range ofcomponent versions and the result could include the recommendedcomponent version that would work across all their deployed devices.

The query request, in one implementation, can be the same transmissionused to provide a device version profile of a device instance as shownin FIG. 4. For example, a device may transmit operating system versioninformation and in response, receive the capability results. Thison-demand providing and receiving of information is achievable aftersufficient data has been collected. In an alternative variation, thecapability query request is distinct from collecting information. In oneimplementation, a first interface of the cloud-hosted service (i.e., acollection interface) is used in collecting component versioninformation used in a device version profile, and a second interface ofthe cloud-hosted service (i.e., a query interface) is used to provideprocessed results for specific queries. The query interface can beexposed externally to outside entities or alternatively used internallyin operation of the cloud-hosted service. The capability query includesat least one device profile. In a preferred implementation, thecapability query is used in determining the most recommended version ofa component that is compatible with a particular device (or set ofdevices).

The query can additionally specify other parameters that alter the typeof information requested. For instance, query may want a recommendationof the most “stable” version, “most cutting edge”, “fastest trending”,“most popular”, “most secure” or other qualifier for a component. Therecommendation can additionally be set for particular platforms. Forexample, a query property can be set to “latest Android version” or“latest iOS version”. Further the parameters can define a set ofoptions. For example, the query property can include a qualifyingparameter that adjusts the version or time window of recommendations.For example, a qualified query parameter can be “Android last two majorreleases”. The query parameters can be automatically inferred based on aquery of the device profile repository. Other qualifying parameters mayadjust the scope of device profiles considered. For example, a queryparameter may scope the query based on device model, operating systemtype, carrier, account name (e.g., within a corporate fleet of devices),country, or other suitable qualifying parameters. The query parameterscan be automatically inferred based on a query of the device profilerepository. Additional filters can be set such as restraining a searchto a particular location or any suitable condition.

Block S140, which includes querying the device profile repositoryaccording to the component version query request, functions to processthe component version information to determine information relevant tothe query. In a first variation, the query is attempting to determine ifone or more particular components are compatible with a particulardevice version profile. In another variation, the query is attempting todetermine if any updates to current components are available and/orrecommended. In another variation, the query is attempting to determineif any new components are recommended for a particular deviceconfiguration. The query is preferably specific to a particular deviceversion instance (or a set of device instance properties) as shown inFIG. 7, as opposed to a basic understanding of what version is the mostcurrent globally. In some cases, a particular device may be limited fromupdating to particular version or may require an alternative component.For example, if a particular device type can't update to a most recentoperating system, a third party software patch may resolve avulnerability that is present in the operating system available to thatdevice. Querying the device profile repository can include searching thedatabase, identifying, using various data analysis processes to generatedata-driven results. Querying the device profile repository can identifyone or more compatible components (including specific versionrecommendations), device capability breakdown, population or rankedcomponent breakdown, or any suitable type of result. Identifyingcapabilities of the device preferably includes applying probabilisticanalysis and weighting of related component version information todetermine the capabilities of the device. The method preferably usesgroup analysis to determine the most likely response based on the statusof other devices. Such analysis may involve identifying correspondingdevice version profile records. Corresponding device version profilerecords are other device instances that currently or previously hadsubstantially matching profiles. The collected data used is preferably asubset of records with matching scenarios. For example, in identifying arecommended version number, records with matching device model andcarrier information from the same country can be used. If insufficientdata samples are available, the subset of records can additionallyinclude similar records, such as records of the same device model butdifferent carrier information.

Querying the device profile repository can include identifyingcapabilities of a device as defined by the device version profileinformation from the query. In particular variation, querying the deviceprofile repository can include identifying emerging components withinthe device profile repository as shown in FIG. 6. When new versions arereleased and adoption begins, the system can automatically detect thetransition of a component to a new version. In one variation, detectionof emerging components can differentiate between beta versions, testversions, or versions that may have higher version numbers but aren'trecommended new versions. A threshold number of device profiles may needto adopt the emerging version before it can be considered the most up todate. Alternatively, the augmenting of the device profile repositorywith version annotations as in FIG. 5 can additionally facilitate newversion identification. Additionally or alternatively, querying thedevice profile repository can include weighting component versions. Whenapplied to identifying evolving version ecosystem, accounts classifiedas “stable” may be stronger indicators of current versions. Stableaccounts may be device version profiles from device instances thatregularly update to the most current and reliable version of components.Weighting component versions can alternatively be applied independent ofnew version detection. The records can be weighted, during the queryingprocess, based on the age of the records, the history of the records,the source, closeness of match, or any suitable parameter. In onevariation, device version profiles that come from accounts of a trustedcorporate partner can be given more weight since the devices are moretrusted as shown in FIG. 8. This variation can include detecting anentity associated with a device version profile, and augmenting theweighting the detected device version profiles—increasing or decreasingpreference. The identification can be performed on demand in response toa newly received capability query. Additionally or alternatively, thedevice version profiles can be pre-processed and structured such thatthe capabilities are pre-determined and the capability query accessesthe processed results. In one implementation, identified capabilityresults for a query are cached for subsequent or related queries.

Various types of capability queries can be made. Often, at least onefield of the component version information will be of interest in theresults. In a preferred variation, a recommended version number oridentifier of a component is identified for the provided device versionprofile of the capability query. For example, a device will send thedevice model, the carrier information, and optionally operating systemversion information, and in response, a recommended version of theoperating system is identified. The recommended version is often aversion that is predicted to be most stable and/or secure. In thisexample, the recommended version can be identified by looking at otherrecords of the same device model and carrier information. Then theoperating system version used by the highest percentage of devices canbe determined to be the recommended version. Those records canoptionally be weighted based on the source or age of the records. Forexample, the highest raw percentage of users may use a first version ofan OS, but a newer and more secure version may have been recentlyreleased. The identification process can be augmented so that trendingor newer information would result in identification of the newer versiondespite not being the most popular. The OS version recommendation canadditionally be augmented based on version rules such as the order inwhich a recommendation will trend over time, white-listed orblack-listed version numbers, and other rules. Beta versions, developerreleases, version number spoofing, and other scenarios can be overcomeby the analysis and heuristics of the identification system. Alternativetypes of queries can include identifying devices that support aparticular version number and identifying supplemental components thatare compatible or recommended for a component.

As mentioned above, the method can include weighting device versionprofiles according to the source, which can include classifying versioninformation records with user information. This variation can includeclassifying device sources. In one implementation, the device versionprofiles are collected by an application that has an account system. Thehistory of the account records can be used in evaluating thetrustworthiness of the device version profile record. A record can begiven more weight, no weight, or negative weight. If the account is apaying account, then the account can be assumed to be more trustworthydue to the financial barrier. If the account frequently updates thetool/device, the user will often have usage habits indicating theirsystem is well maintained. In some situations, the application is usedfor vulnerability assessment, two-factor authentication application,system updates, and thus more regular use of the application can be asignal the user is sensitive to using up to date versions. Similarly,usage patterns outside of the application can be a signal of thetrustworthiness of the device version profile. The supplementalinformation can indicate if the account has device usage patterns. Forexample, the list of applications installed on the device or the changein location information can be signals of the risk of the device. On thecontrary, accounts that are free accounts that infrequently update theirdevice, that include supplemental information indicating suspectapplications, or include other signals may be penalized. In some cases,the weighting can be used to penalize the use of that version. Forexample, a user that includes several applications only accessible tojailbroken devices may be penalized such that the corresponding toolversion is avoided based on the corresponding record.

Block S150, which includes responding to the request with a result ofthe query, functions to act appropriately to resolve the capabilityrequest using the identified analysis. In a first implementation, aresponse is transmitted to the source of the compatibility request. In afirst variation, the query requests the recommended version of the tool(e.g., current stable version), and the response is the version numberor other suitable identifier. In another variation, the identifiedcapabilities are used to fetch or generate a recommended, suggested, orpossible system update to update one or more components. The update canbe a vulnerability or security update. The response can be a link to thenecessary updates, or alternatively, initiate a data transfer of theupdate. In another variation, the response includes a set of informationsatisfying the query. For example, a query may request devicecompatibility with a particular version of a component, and the responsecan include a set of device identifiers that are capable of running withthat version of the tool. In one implementation, the cloud-hostedservice is configured for outside parties to request the information. AnAPI or alternative query interface can be used. The responses aredelivered to the requesting entity, which could include clientapplications and/or third party application services. For example, anapplication developer can use the tool to selectively recommend a userupdate an operating system. In an alternative implementation, the queryand response are used internally to the cloud-hosted service. Forexample, a vulnerability assessment service can use the toolcompatibility service to determine the recommended or executed securityupdates on a particular device.

In one alternative implementation, the method is applied to a platformversion control system wherein the method is used to indicate if adevice or component is in compliance with component version conditions.This variation functions to allow checks to be performed on individualdevices to see if they are in compliance. The platform version controlsystem is preferably used in a system wherein there is a set ofdifferent devices accessing or otherwise making use of the system. Anadministrator of the system can set one or more component versionconditions. One-time or periodic checks may be made on the set ofdevices to determine if one or more components satisfy the componentversion condition. In one implementation, a user interface allows anadministrator to set the allowed component versions. The components ofinterest can be any suitable type of component. In one example, anadministrator can set the operating system version conditions. Operatingsystem version conditions may be specified by selecting options such as“latest iOS version” or “latest Android version”. These absolutecomponent version conditions may result in a device not passing becauseit has not been upgraded or because it is ineligible for the latestversion. Operating system version conditions may alternatively includeoptions such as “last two major releases for Android”, “latest versionof Android for this device”, or “latest version of Android for thisdevice and not less than Honeycomb”. The component version conditionscan alternatively be set through an API or any suitable condition. Thisimplementation preferably similarly depends on collecting componentversion information. When a device attempts to use the platform (or atany suitable time such as registration), an at least a partial deviceversion profile is collected from the device. A query is made on thedevice profile repository using the the device version profile of theparticular device. Results of this query can be compared to thecomponent version conditions and then the device can be determined to bein compliance or not incompliance. If in compliance the device ispreferably allowed to use the platform. If not in compliance, the deviceis preferably prevented from accessing the platform. Alternatively,access to the platform may be limited. Additionally, the device may berequired to perform an update of the component. In the case of thedevice not being compatible with allowed component version, anotification that informs the user to update his or her device.

In another usecase, the method may be applied to generating automaticupdate notifications. These update notifications are preferablydependent on the particular device and a comparison to the deviceprofile repository. For example, an employee's Moto X on T-Mobileaccessing a corporate network can be detected as not being fully up todate since seen 10 other similar devices were observed with a highercomponent version.

Additionally, the method may include monitoring the device instanceassociated with the device version profile of the query request as shownin FIG. 9, which functions to generate feedback on the supplied result.Monitoring a device after making a recommendation may be used todetermine if that recommendation was followed, and if thatrecommendation was maintained. The subsequent monitoring can function toidentify user resistance to a particular system update. The subsequentmonitoring may additionally function to automatically identify componentversions that are incompatible—the device either can't perform theupdate or after the update it breaks functionality of another componentor the device is rolled back to another version. Monitoring a deviceinstance after making a recommendation can function to improve thecomponent querying and recommendation process.

The system and method of the preferred embodiment and variations thereofcan be embodied and/or implemented at least in part as a machineconfigured to receive a computer-readable medium storingcomputer-readable instructions. The instructions are preferably executedby computer-executable components preferably integrated with the toolcompatibility service and device profile repository. Thecomputer-readable medium can be stored on any suitable computer-readablemedia such as RAMs, ROMs, flash memory, EEPROMs, optical devices (CD orDVD), hard drives, floppy drives, or any suitable device. Thecomputer-executable component is preferably a general or applicationspecific processor, but any suitable dedicated hardware orhardware/firmware combination device can alternatively or additionallyexecute the instructions.

As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the previous detaileddescription and from the figures and claims, modifications and changescan be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: at a network connectedplatform, collecting component version information from a plurality ofdevice instances; for each device instance, constructing a deviceversion profile from the component version information; classifying thedevice version profiles into a device profile repository; at a networkconnected platform, receiving a component version query request, thecomponent version query request including a set of constraints definedby specified component version information; querying the device profilerepository according to the component version query request; andresponding to the query request with results of the query.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein collecting component version information from aplurality of device instances comprises collecting at least one ofoperating system version information, firmware version information, andapplication version information.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereincollecting component version information from a plurality of deviceinstances comprises collecting at least one of carrier information,location information, and user configuration information.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein collecting component version information from aplurality of device instances comprises collecting hardware versionidentifiers and configuration information.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the response specifies at least one recommended compatibledevice update.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the compatible deviceupdate is a vulnerability update.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theresponse specifies at least one recommended compatible application. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein a device version profile includes a setof physical components of a configurable hardware platform, and whereinthe response specifies at least one recommended compatible physicaldevice component.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the componentversion query request includes a first device version profile of a firstdevice instance.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first deviceversion profile of the first device instance includes software versionidentifiers, at least one carrier identifier, and at least one hardwareidentifier.
 11. method of claim 9, wherein the results of the componentversion query include a set of component references compatible with thefirst device version profile.
 12. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising weighting component versions with trending adoption that arecompatible with the first device version profile.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein collecting component version information from aplurality of device instances further comprises periodically collectingcomponent version information.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinquerying the device profile repository according to the componentversion query request comprises identifying emerging components.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising augmenting the device profilerepository with component version annotation.
 16. The method of claim 1,wherein querying the device profile repository comprises weightingcomponent version information of a device version profile of at leastone device instance according to a source classification.
 17. The methodof claim 16, wherein weighting the component version profile informationcomprises penalizing consideration of a device version profile with afirst set of characteristics of tool version information.
 18. The methodof claim 1, further comprising providing a collection module to aplurality of device instances, and wherein collecting the componentversion information from a plurality of device instances is performed bythe collection module.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein thecollection module is an application.
 20. The method of claim 18, whereinthe collection module is a development kit.